June 25, 2021 

Happy Friday.  As we enter the “new normal”, let’s talk flexibility: ways to get the flex that’s right for you – and that will make working parenthood easier and better in the months ahead. You can read here, or on workparent.com.   

It’s not just about remote work 

Are you waiting on your organization to announce a back-to-work date, or digesting new WFH rules?  That’s stressful – and a distraction from the other flex tools you might use to build the workparent life you want.  During this post-pandemic reset period, think carefully: what specific work-plus-family challenges am I really solving for? (My commute? Burnout? A child’s unique needs? The desire to put some boundaries between work and non-work time?) Then, consider which of the tools below might be feasible, and help you solve them.       

Other flex tools

• Self-directed flexibility: You set the terms, taking flex in small bites.  (Your kid has a school concert?  Then get up and go – without asking permission.)

• Shifted hours: an early-in, early-out schedule that will let you be there for homework and dinner.

• A compressed schedule: longer days, but fewer of them.    

• Reduced hours or “part-time” work: a negotiated decrease in your schedule and workload.

• Seasonal, project-by-project, or situational flexibility: the ability to take work in “waves” – and focus more on family in between.

• Job sharing / fractional work: Splitting a role – and gaining boundaries. 

• Short-term flex, or “phase-back”: an agreement to reduce or shift your hours for a set period of time, such as the first few weeks after parental leave, or when the kids head back to in-person school. 

• Consulting: Working as a contractor instead of an employee, with a negotiated, agreed-upon schedule. 

Remember, there is no “one size fits all” for flexibility – but there is a unique, tailored arrangement that can fit your ambitions, career, and family. And if there’s ever been a time to get real, get tactical, and get going in terms of creating it – it’s right now.

For complete advice on choosing a flexible setup, negotiating and advocating for it, making it work day-to-day, and advancing your career as you do: check out Chapter 15 of Workparent, the complete, inclusive, post-pandemic guidebook to combining career and kids. 

Want to know more about Workparent?  Read this week’s coverage in the New York Times.   

If you found this email helpful, forward it to a fellow working parent, or post this link to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn:  https://www.workparent.com/articlesandadvice 

Workparent: Solutions and dignity for all working parents – and no judgments, ever.